Facing Semiconductor Shortage, GOP Senate Candidates Fail to Support Legislation to Protect & Grow Georgia Economy

Expansive legislation will bolster U.S. supply chain and decrease Chinese dependency

Today, the U.S. Senate voted to pass the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act — a “once-in-a-generation investment” in the United States’ research and development capacity to protect jobs in Georgia, bolster American technological competitiveness, and decrease our nation’s unsustainable economic dependence on China while cracking down on intellectual property theft and cyber attacks. 

The critical legislation includes a provision to safeguard Georgia jobs by funding the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America program. The $52 billion investment to increase production of American-made semiconductors comes at a crucial time after Georgia’s Kia Plant in West Point, which employs about 2,700 Georgians and produces over 340,000 vehicles per year, was recently forced to shutter for two days due to a massive shortage of semiconductor chips.

“Every single Republican Senate candidate who claims to champion Georgia’s workers and opposes China’s supply chain stranglehold should be on the record supporting this crucial bill. Otherwise, it’s just empty rhetoric,” said Dan Gottlieb, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia.